Monthly Archives: March 2012

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Here is a story, as reported by our local radio station WJBD, that took place right here in safe, rural Marion County, IL. The building of the church where I preach is about three miles south of the school where the alleged incident took place–we pass it on our way every time we go to Bible study and worship.

A 19-year-old rural Kell man has been arrested for alleged indecent solicitation of a child and aggravated criminal sexual abuse. Paul Anderson of Charlton Road is accused of committing a sexual act with a 13-year-old Iuka girl who he allegedly propositioned on Facebook and through text messages.

Iuka Police Chief Kevin Cripps says the girl allegedly slipped out of her home and met Anderson on the parking lot of the Iuka Grade School early Wednesday morning. The alleged sexual abuse occurred in Anderson’s truck. Anderson reportedly asked the girl to be his friend on Facebook in the last week and the conversation developed from there.

Cripps said the incident was reported to the sheriff’s department after family members learned what had happened. Anderson was arrested after he was picked up at his home and brought to the sheriff’s department for questioning. He allegedly confessed to committing the acts of sexual abuse. Iuka Police report the investigation is continuing.

Meanwhile, Cripps says he cannot indicate how important it is for parents to get involved with monitoring their children’s Facebook and texting activity. He notes sexual solicitations are becoming a more common problem.

Please read the following observation from Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council from his Washington Update of March 27, 2010. The subject is not homeschooling, but Tony relates it to homeschooling in the section that I’ve highlighted in bold and italics.

Obama Does Some Seoul-Searching after Gaffe

No one is more confident about Barack Obama winning reelection than Barack Obama. With nine months left in his first term, the President is already racking up promises for the next four years. And until yesterday, no one knew about those deals but him. Now, thanks to another embarrassing blunder, the only thing standing in the way of President Obama and a second term may be his own microphone. During Monday’s nuclear summit in Seoul, the U.S. leader leaned in to Russian President Dmitri Medvedev to have a frank conversation about America’s plans for a missile defense shield in Europe–without realizing the comments were picked up on his open mic. What happened next was a frightening glimpse into this administration’s vision for 2013 and beyond.

“On all these issues,” President Obama said quietly, “but particularly missile defense, this can be solved-but it’s import for [Vladamir Putin] to give me space… This is my last election. After my election I have more flexibility.” Medvedev nodded. “I understand,” he said. “I will transmit this information to Vladimir.” Minutes later, the recording was blasted out to the entire press pool, and suddenly, international headlines were full of speculation about the President’s concessions on national security and whether the administration was relaxing U.S. policy.

Back home, voters who were already concerned about the direction of the country, were even more alarmed. The Republican National Committee asked the question on most people’s minds, “What else is on Obama’s agenda after the election that he isn’t telling you?” Others worried about the implications for Iran and Syria. “I’m curious,” said former Speaker Newt Gingrich, “How many other countries has the President promised that he will have a lot more flexibility [on] the morning he doesn’t have to answer to the American people?” Gov. Mitt Romney deftly turned the question into a fill-in-the-blank exercise. “I’ll have more flexibility to do _____ after the election.”

Redefine marriage? Crack down on homeschooling? Offer taxpayer-funded sex changes? Cut off foreign aid to countries that don’t legalize abortion? This is what conservatives have cautioned all along. If you think the administration is liberal now, just want until next year when the President is not facing reelection. For the most radical White House in history, there is no limit to the damage he could inflict on this country. Even now, in his third year, Americans are only slowly learning what the administration has already done in secret. New abuses are trickling out every day, including this latest announcement from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The President decided that if he can’t pass a non-discrimination policy, he’ll implement one anyway. On Friday, the administration handed down a new rule, ordering HUD to add “sexual orientation” to the non-discrimination policy on housing applications.

Under this edict, faith-based groups such as Catholic Charities, who operate housing complexes in partnership with HUD, would be forced to abandon their beliefs on marriage and accept homosexual couples–or end their grant with the federal government. Last year, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops urged HUD to not to create a “new protected classification” that flies in the face of congressional policy. But, once again, the administration proved that it would risk services for the most vulnerable just to advance their radical social agenda. Barbara McQuade, one of the lobbyists on the issue, congratulated the President for barging ahead on the new language without the legislature’s approval. “I really applaud the administration, which isn’t waiting around for Congress,” she told reporters. Ironically, that was the fulfillment of another Obama promise–one that he made quite publicly. “Where they won’t act,” the President warned, “I will.” Even, it appears, if he lacks the constitutional authority to do so.

As an amateur book reviewer (I say amateur because I make absolutely no money at it—but check out my book review weblog at http://homeschoolblogger.com/homeschoolbookreview/ ), I often receive newly published books to review. Since my focus is on literature for children and youth, I have had occasion recently to read a number of soon to be released young adult novels. Some of them have been pretty good, but most of them, even the ones with interesting stories, are filled with such filthy language, sexual situations, and other objectionable features, that godly parents would likely find them unfit for their young people.

The more I read such books, the more I am convinced that in many respects “older is better.” I am also trying to work my way through some of the earlier Newbery books, back in the days when a Newbery Medal actually meant something, and have found several real gems. We have also read several reprints of children’s literature from years gone by and liked them. So here’s a list of publishers who reprint good books—nice stories with godly principles and nothing morally inappropriate for youngsters who are being raised in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.

Perhaps you could add other sources. If so, please feel free to do so. We have purchased books from almost all of these companies and had had excellent results. One could spend hundreds if not thousands of dollars buying good books from these companies (many homeschooling catalogues carry books from many of them, and many of these publishers are run by homeschooling families), but even if you don’t have that much to spend, you might want to look over their websites to see if there is something which interests you. Happy reading!

All kinds of children, including homeschoolers, have enjoyed Dr. Seuss’s books, such as The Lorax. Unfortunately, these kid’s stories have been hijacked by Hollywood to promote their leftist agenda.

World Magazine’s March 24, 2012, review of the new Lorax movie begins, “On Friday, March 2, Universal Pictures released The Lorax, a movie version of the Dr. Seuss book, and it promptly raked in $70 million. That’s the strongest opening of any film this year, more than tripling its closest competition for the weekend. Part of the reason is its family-friendly billing. Clean, family-oriented movies sell more tickets, and The Lorax—rated PG for mild language—has no vampires, no half-naked teens, and a minimum of cursing.”

Why there even has to be a “minimum of cursing” is beyond me, but the review goes on to point out that while The Lorax proves to be a bonanza at the box office, it is also a bonanza for liberal groups wanting to indoctrinate children, saying, “Near the final scenes, the townsfolk band together and sing joyfully of their new tree, “Let it grow!” Who wouldn’t want to join right in? Apparently, big bad businessmen and the consumers who love them. At the heart of the movie is an anti-business scene in which the Once-ler, formerly friends with the Lorax, now sells him out and clear-cuts the land to ‘shake that bottom-line.'”

You are cordially invited to check out Home School Book Review, a weblog devoted to book reviews, primarily of children’s literature and books for teens/young adults, from a Biblical worldview by a homeschooling father.

Over 2,000 books have been reviewed and new books are added nearly every day. You can use the search feature to see if a specific book has been reviewed or find books by your favorite author. You can also use the categories list to check out books on different subjects.

Some of the books that were reviewed this past month include the following:

“Shout joyfully to the LORD, all the earth; break forth in song, rejoice, and sing praises” (Psalm 98:4). If you are walking by a friend’s house and see that it is on fire, do you stay quietly on the sidewalk and whisper “fire” as softly as you can? No, you run up to the house, beat on the door, and shout “FIRE!” at the top of your lungs. When the people who appear on television game shows win the grand prize, say a new car or a trip around the world or $100,000, do they usually stand by nonchalantly and just quietly say, “Oh, that’s nice”? No, most people jump up and down and shout, “Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!”

Of course, some people are more outwardly emotional than others, but all of us get excited about some things, and when we do we tend to shout. Now, there is nothing wrong with shouting “Fire” to someone in a burning building or shouting with glee when we have won a prize. However, for Christians, there is something even more important to shout about. Some religious organizations are known for shouting in their services. I have been in such assemblies where everyone prayed out loud at the same time, shouting as vociferously as possible. That is mere confusion, not doing things decently and in order (1 Corinthians 14:33, 40).

At the same time, in order to avoid “emotionalism,” some brethren have swung to the other extreme and show almost no emotion at all in their worship. We must worship in spirit as well as in truth (John 4:24). To worship in spirit involves both the right attitude of reverence and awe toward God and also acting with zeal and enthusiasm. One way in which we express our joy toward God is singing (James 5:13). I have been in some assemblies of brethren where it almost seems as if everyone is trying to sing as softly as possible. While we surely want to do all things decently and in order, the Psalmist does tell us to “shout joyfully to the Lord…and sing praises,” not “make a half-hearted squeak”! We have always included the singing of hymns as part of our homeschool curriculum so that we can “shout joyfully to the Lord.”